Toronto: Rob Ford

Rob Ford: When Toronto's police chief more or less confirmed last week the existence of a video showing Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack, the reaction was mostly the same as it would be anywhere -- a collection of disappointment, anger and condemnation. But mixed in was something more telling: a pervasive concern about what the world would think. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. That concern says more about Toronto, and by extension Canada, than Ford's crack video. Canada's largest city, where I grew up, is a sprawling, crowded, diverse, fabulously wealthy and increasingly exciting place. It's Canada's New York City the nation's finance capital , San Francisco technology and Los Angeles entertainment put together, and is by almost every measure a world-class city. There's only one thing holding it back: An adolescent's obsession over what other people think of it. Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted Tuesday he smoked crack cocaine. "He's embarrassed Toronto in a world-class manner," read a typical tweet; variations on that theme included "He's making Toronto look bad" and "He has been an ongoing embarrassment to the city, at home and abroad." A city councillor worried that "this is getting spread globally," while The Canadian Press published a compendium of damning foreign coverage. Related Items Articles 'I've smoked crack cocaine' Ford's transgressions target of opinions, wisecracks Ford under mounting pressure to step aside after crack confession Ford's drug confession clashes with 'good' Canadian image: expert Rob Ford's 'crack' admission called legally safe, 'cynical' political ploy Columns Joke's on us when we laugh at T.O. mayor (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.